Genesis – A trick of the tail

A Trick of the Tail is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released on 13 February 1976 on Charisma Records and was the first album to feature drummer Phil Collins as lead vocalist following the departure of Peter Gabriel. It was a critical and commercial success in the UK and U.S., reaching No. 3 and No. 31 respectively.

Following Gabriel’s decision to leave the band, the remaining members wanted to carry on to show they could still write and record successful material, as keyboardist Tony Banks and bassist/rhythm guitarist Mike Rutherford, not Gabriel, were the principal writers of the music. The group wrote and rehearsed new songs during mid-1975, and listened to numerous audition tapes for a replacement frontman. They entered Trident Studios in October with producer David Hentschel to record the album without a definitive idea of who was going to perform lead vocals. After the search for a singer proved unfruitful, Collins was persuaded to sing “Squonk”, and the performance was so strong, he sang lead on the rest of the album.

Upon release, critics were impressed by the improved sound quality and the group’s ability to survive the loss of Gabriel without sacrificing the quality of the music. The group went out on tour with Collins as frontman and Bill Bruford as tour drummer, and the resulting performances in the US raised Genesis’ profile there. The album has been reissued on CD several times, including a deluxe package with bonus videos in 2007

Vinyl VG+/ Sleeve VG+